Baroness Ashton of Upholland: On 21 November 2005 I made an order under Section 2(6) of the Taxes Management Act 1970 amalgamating a number of divisions in Kent, Somerset, Gloucestershire, Devon, Suffolk, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire as follows.
	With effect from 1 December 2005
	Dartford and Gravesend Divisions are merged into Dartford and Gravesend Division.
	Bath and Barton Regis with Grumbalds Ash Divisions are merged into Bath, Barton Regis and Grumbalds Ash Division.
	With effect from 1 January 2006
	Axminster, Crediton, Exeter City, Sidmouth and Tiverton Divisions are merged into Exeter and East Devon Division.
	Bury St Edmunds and Lackford Divisions are merged into West Suffolk Division.
	Ipswich Borough and Woodbridge Divisions are merged into East Suffolk Division
	Banbury and Brackley Divisions are merged into Banbury and Brackley Division.
	North Nottingham and South Nottingham Divisions are merged into Nottingham Division.
	With effect from 17 February 2006
	Newton Abbot, Paignton and Torquay Divisions are merged into Torbay Division.
	All the amalgamations were made at the request of the general commissioners in all the divisions with the aim of improving the organisational efficiency of the divisions concerned. I have placed a copy of the order amalgamating the divisions in the Libraries of both Houses.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: In a Written Ministerial Statement of Thursday 10 February 2005 (Official Report, col. WS 46) it was announced that the previous annual Cabinet Office publication Public Bodies had been replaced by an online searchable database. I am pleased to announce that the 2005 update of the database has now been completed. Data on individual public bodies as at 31 March 2005 were made available online during the summer, and the package has now been completed with the provision of summary reports and a printable (pdf) file of all the 2005 data. The database is accessible at www.knowledgenetwork.gov.uk/ndpb/ndpb.nsf.
	The database lists the public bodies sponsored by central government, with contact details, information about their remit and about the membership of their boards. The figures are broken down between male and female members for individual bodies, and summaries are provided at departmental level for the proportions of board members who are women, have declared they have a disability or come from a minority ethnic background.
	Comparisons with 2004 database returns show that diversity levels have remained broadly similar. There has been a small increase in the proportion of appointees who have declared they have a disability, but a slight decrease in the percentage of appointments held by women and by people from minority ethnic backgrounds. This reinforces the Government's commitment to continue to pursue their diversity objectives and to promote outreach activity and plans.
	The database also includes information about the Government's task forces, ad-hoc advisory groups and reviews, giving a more complete picture of the bodies and groups working to deliver the Government's objectives.
	Copies of a printed version of the pdf file are available in the Library.